84: The fate of the Shadow Pavilion

A streak of brilliant white immortal light, condensed to the extreme and imbued with the true intent of purification and exorcism, tore through the night sky without warning, striking with unerring precision a seemingly unremarkable point in the Void Realm!

Hum—!

Space twisted violently, and countless hidden Formation patterns manifested instantly, only to dissolve like snow under the assault of the immortal light.

That immortal light was no random strike; its point of impact was the "Life Gate," the most vulnerable spot where the three core energy nodes of the mountain-protecting Formation intersected during their daily rotation!

Even more fatal was the ripple within the immortal light that shared the same Origin as the Shadow Pavilion's Formation but bore the mark of betrayal—it was the "key" provided by an insider!

With an inside-out assault, the Shadow Pavilion's mountain-protecting Formation, claimed to be "unbreakable for ten thousand years," failed to hold for even three breaths. It shattered with a teeth-gritting crack, opening a massive, irreparable breach!

"Enemy attack—!!!"

A shrill alarm echoed through the valley as countless dark figures leaped frantically from buildings and shadows. However, the backlash and chaos caused by the instant destruction of the Formation left over half of the Shadow Pavilion's elites injured by tremors before they could even engage the enemy.

"Kill." Standing atop the clouds, Chu Ye uttered only a single word.

Behind him, the immortal-level forces from various factions, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, poured down like a cascading galaxy!

Empress transformed her sword into a long dragon and charged directly at the central army; Witch Empress Jiuyou spread a poisonous miasma across the sky, covering all directions.

Fox Immortal Su Qingyue unleashed her illusions, causing the already chaotic enemies to slaughter one another. As soon as Lady Hua Yu opened her True Immortal Domain, she locked onto several of the strongest hidden auras, and with a flip of her jade-like hands, the restrictions of Law descended.

Li Yue remained silent, her slender hands lifting lightly as the Guanghan Nirvanic Sound transformed into invisible blades. Specifically designed to pierce through shadow-stealth, it precisely executed the Shadow Pavilion experts attempting to flee or counterattack.

The other Chu Family Old Ancestors, Abbess Miaoyin, and others also displayed their respective abilities, coordinating with seamless rapport.

The Shadow Pavilion was not without its powerhouses.

Several Grand Elders with sinister auras and the Pavilion Master, who had been perpetually shrouded in distorted shadows, finally appeared. Each radiated the powerful ripples of a veteran Immortal Realm combatant. The Pavilion Master's aura, in particular, was obscure and profound, nearly touching the Peak of the Immortal Dao.

However, in the face of absolute strength and a pre-planned assault, individual bravery appeared pale and powerless.

On Chu Ye's side, the True Immortals visible on the surface included Lady Hua Yu and Cold Moon. High-level Immortal Dao combatants included Empress, the Witch Queen, and Su Qingyue, with no fewer than ten other Immortal Realm experts.

Although the Shadow Pavilion was famous for assassination and stealth, their direct combat power was inherently inferior. Now that their turtle shell had been broken and they had lost the initiative, how could they resist?

The battle was almost a one-sided crushing.

The roar of colliding immortal arts, the crisp clang of divine weapons, the wretched screams before death, and the thunderous collapse of buildings... all intertwined into tonight's bloody main theme.

The Shadow Pavilion's proud techniques of stealth and assassination were heavily countered by Lady Hua Yu's True Immortal Domain, Li Yue's Guanghan soundwaves, and Su Qingyue's pervasive illusions.

And in a direct confrontation, they were even less of a match for Empress and the others.

Chu Ye never directly intervened, merely looking down calmly at the slaughter below. Cold Moon stood by his side like his most loyal shadow, occasionally striking to eliminate a few stragglers attempting to sneak attack or break through; her movements were precise and cold.

She watched the destruction of the Shadow Pavilion below and the terrifying strength displayed by Chu Ye's subordinates, a deeper sense of stillness and realization flickering in the depths of her eyes.

With this kind of power, sweeping across a whole Domain might still require planning, but annihilating a single pavilion was indeed as easy as flipping one's palm.

The bloody battle lasted for about an hour.

Gunpowder smoke mixed with a heavy scent of blood wafted out, shrouding the entire valley. The once dark and mysterious headquarters was now reduced to broken walls and ruins, with corpses strewn everywhere and blood flowing like rivers.

The surviving members of the Shadow Pavilion either knelt in surrender, trembling uncontrollably, or fought desperately to break out, only to be mostly intercepted and killed by the surrounding blockade of Formations and experts.

A few who were proficient in escape techniques might have already fled far away in the chaos, but the core elites and high-level officials were almost entirely wiped out.

On Chu Ye's side, everyone's aura was slightly depleted, and their robes were stained with some blood and dust, but no one was seriously injured, let alone fallen. It had merely been a high-intensity "practical combat exercise."

Chu Ye stepped through the Void Realm, descending step by step to the heart of the battlefield. Most of the shadows surrounding the Shadow Pavilion Master had already shattered.

Revealing a pale and sinister middle-aged face, he spat blood with a withered aura. He was firmly bound by Lady Hua Yu's immortal power chains, kneeling on the ground.

Beside him was a Vice Pavilion Master, also restrained and looking ashen-faced.

Chu Ye's gaze fell upon the Pavilion Master, his voice betraying no emotion: "Surrender, accept a slave seal, and you may live to serve me."

The Shadow Pavilion Master jerked his head up, a flash of defiance and madness in his eyes: "The Shadow Pavilion has only death-sworn soldiers, not slaves! Today's defeat was not a failure of skill! You all..."

Before he could finish, a cold light flashed in Chu Ye's eyes. Without even seeing him move, a power of Origin annihilation from the world of the hundred phoenix diagram descended, completely enveloping the Shadow Pavilion Master.

Just like the talkative Immortal Realm assassin before, this Shadow Pavilion Master—who was more famous and powerful—couldn't even let out a scream. Starting from his fingertips, his body rapidly turned to ash. His Divine Soul was extinguished, and he vanished completely from the world.

Swift, decisive, and ruthless.

The Vice Pavilion Master nearby witnessed this scene and trembled violently, his last shred of hope and hesitation vanishing like smoke. He hurriedly pressed his forehead to the ground, his voice hoarse and terrified: "I surrender! This subordinate is willing to surrender! I am willing to offer my soul seal and be a slave for eternity, just to live! I know all the secret treasuries, strongholds, and personnel lists of the Pavilion, and I am willing to offer them all!"

Chu Ye glanced at him and nodded, but he did not handle it personally. Instead, he looked at Empress: "Ni Chang, I'll leave this person to you. You shall oversee the purging of the Shadow Pavilion remnants, the reception of resources, the integration of intelligence, and the screening of personnel. You may also be the one to apply the slave seal."

"Yes," Empress replied. She stepped forward, immortal power condensing at her fingertips as she began to carve a slave seal belonging to her into the Vice Pavilion Master's Divine Soul.

This was both an act of trust and a formal integration of the "spoils of war"—the Shadow Pavilion and its potentially massive shadow network—into Empress's unified administrative system, further solidifying her practical power as the "Co-Ruler of the Four Domains."

Chu Ye no longer looked at the Vice Pavilion Master. He swept his gaze across the bloody ruins with an indifferent expression.

He felt little sympathy or sentimentality in his heart.

He knew very well that if the Great Chu Empire had lost the battle that day, the ones turned to scorched earth with millions of corpses would have been his homeland and his kin.

In the world of cultivation, the strong prey on the weak, and the struggle for imperial hegemony is even more cruel. Today, he marched over the bones of the Shadow Pavilion, which was merely another enactment of this eternal Law.

Winners are kings, and losers are outlaws; it has been so since ancient times.

"Clear the battlefield and tally the losses and spoils. Ni Chang, report the details in three days." Chu Ye left the command, his figure slowly fading and vanishing from the spot.

Li Yue followed silently, and the others also took their orders, beginning to handle the aftermath in an orderly fashion.

As the night deepened, the destruction of the Shadow Pavilion was like a massive boulder thrown into the deep waters of the Central Domain. The ripples it created would surely spread rapidly to every corner.

Chu Ye's fangs were now clearly bared.

The news that the Shadow Pavilion's headquarters had been turned to scorched earth and its high-level members were either dead or surrendered spread like it had wings, reaching the core circles of every major power in the Central Domain at an astonishing speed.